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IT Hardware

Jobs in IT hardware and infrastructure remain in demand, with organisations requiring skilled professionals to maintain their systems, playing a crucial part in ensuring businesses stay connected and productive. This can involve setting up and maintaining servers, computers, and networks, or troubleshooting issues. There are a wide variety of opportunities across sectors such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and education—all of which rely on reliable infrastructure. The skills in this area are also highly transferable, making it possible to move between industries as your career develops.

Graduate roles, apprenticeships, and entry-level jobs are available throughout the UK, particularly in growing tech regions like London, Manchester, and the South West. Smaller businesses can also offer excellent opportunities for hands-on experience, often involving a broader range of tasks for those who enjoy variety or are not ready to specialise.

Jobs in this area could include IT Hardware Technician, Network Hardware Specialist, or Systems Hardware Engineer. Increasingly, these roles are evolving to incorporate newer technologies such as AI for predictive maintenance and hardware optimisation, and there is also growing overlap with the robotics field—particularly in areas like automated systems support and smart manufacturing environments.

While having a technical or computing background is useful, many employers are open to graduates from a range of disciplines, especially those who’ve worked on practical IT or engineering projects. As the integration of robotics and intelligent systems becomes more common in workplaces, there’s a growing need for hardware professionals who can support, maintain, and even help develop these systems.

The following role profiles on the Prospects website will help inform you of the day-to-day responsibilities in graduate level roles and will help inform the kinds of skills, experience and knowledge needed:

If you are interested in these roles you might also be curious to read about :

IT Consultancy

Skills employers look for

You will be expected to have a solid understanding and hands-on experience in the technical areas relevant to the work you’ll be doing. Each role will be different so make sure you check the job description, person specification and advert for each one you apply for.  In the meantime, the following core skills and knowledge areas will be particularly useful:

  • Adaptability: Willingness to learn new technologies and adapt to changing environments.
  • Analytical Thinking: Assessing complex systems and identify improvements.
  • Attention to Detail: Ensuring accuracy and quality.
  • Communication: Conveying technical information clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Computer Architecture & Hardware Design: Knowledge of systems, circuits, and embedded devices.
  • Hardware Troubleshooting: Able to diagnose and fix PCs, servers, and peripherals.
  • IT Infrastructure & Support: Experience maintaining IT systems.
  • Networking Knowledge: Understanding of TCP/IP, LAN/WAN, and common networking hardware.
  • Operating Systems Proficiency: Familiarity with Windows Server and Linux.
  • Problem-Solving: Diagnosing issues and developing effective solutions.
  • Programming Skills: e.g. C++, Python, and scripting.
  • Teamwork: Collaborating with other teams to achieve shared goals.
  • Technical Documentation: Able to create and update technical documentation.
  • Time Management: Prioritising tasks and manage time effectively to meet deadlines.

In order to develop these skills, remember Career Zone also offers a range of Personal and Professional Development sessions which are available to book on Handshake and run at least once per term.  Please also read through the sections about Gaining Experience and Further Study and Professional Development to discover how you can develop your skills through experience and by gaining further knowledge or qualifications. 

Gaining Experience

All experiences ranging from volunteering, active involvement in clubs/societies can help you to develop relevant and transferable skills. You may wish to consider involvement in:

Societies

You might want to consider joining these societies on the Exeter campuses:

These societies are not available on the Cornwall campuses, but you could create one!

Practical experience

  • This link on The Forage offers various virtual immersive, remote and free of charge work simulations to give you an awareness of IT hardware and software engineering.
  • Participate in a Hackathon – Work collaboratively within groups at events to build innovative tech projects
  • Exeter Raspberry Pi Jam – A monthly community event taking place in Exeter, providing the opportunity to showcase projects, learn about Raspberry Pi and related technologies

 University of Exeter Employability Schemes

Career Zone Internship schemes: Internships can be extremely useful, so try and get relevant vacation work or placements

Exeter Award: The Exeter Award will help you stand out from the crowd and give you the confidence to shout about the experiences you've had at university

 Speculative applications and where to find opportunities

Undertaking relevant work experience will also allow you to develop new skills and gain a valuable insight into the sector. As jobs and opportunities are not always advertised, it can be useful to develop your networking skills and apply speculatively.

Finding part time work

You could also have a look at Handshake, our vacancy database with employers who are targeting University of Exeter students

Finding advertised graduate roles, placements and internships

Competition can be strong, especially for entry-level positions. Use the following resources to find advertised vacancies and research employers.

  •  A list of graduate jobs on offer via Bright Network
  • Gradcracker for more graduate jobs
  • Total Jobs offers a range of IT Hardware focused based roles
  • Reed.co.uk offer a range of graduate roles, some of which will include experienced hires, so you can explore development opportunities
  • CWJobs is platform advertising tech-based roles with plenty of opportunities in hardware
  • ITJobsWatch a range of organisations offering roles with this search focused on hardware
  • Student Circus – a jobs platform specifically for pre-filtered visa-sponsored jobs for international students.
  • Technojobs - this search will take you to hardware roles
  • Collection on Handshake for internships
  • Here is a list of hardware internships on offer via Bright Network
  • This page on Prospects.ac.uk lists an impressive series of organisations offering Tech related internships, including in Hardware modelling
  • Tech Cornwall offers a jobs board.  You can also submit a CV to their Talent Pool for review by their membership organisations
  • Indeed – worldwide jobs platform, can search for part-time or full-time jobs in any sector. Large companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) advertise vacancies on this platform.

Recruitment Consultants – there are a wide range of recruiters who advertise IT roles and they often advertise graduate and entry-level positions.  See Agency Central for a list of specialist recruitment agencies and search by sector e.g. IT and Tech. Ensure any recruiters you connect with are members of a professional body such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development or the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. 

For general information about finding graduate opportunities, please visit our Graduate Jobs page. Y

Placements

If you are interested in finding out more about work placements, you can also access the Work Placements SharePoint via Single Sign-On. This resource covers all aspects of credit-bearing work experiences as part of your degree, including what a placement is, how to apply for them, and bespoke information for international students or those interested in working abroad.

Further sources of support

If you are an international student, visit our international webpages for help finding opportunities both in the UK and globally.

To find opportunities outside the UK use GoinGlobal.

Further study and professional development

Some individuals decide to undertake further study to build their skills and knowledge of the sector and related occupations. Not all roles or employers will require this, so it is important to research entry requirements and employer preferences before committing to additional training or qualifications. Use the sites below to research your further study options.

  • Here is a list of thousands of UK universities’ hardware related Masters courses on Find a Masters.com and here is a list of robotics courses in UK universities on the same website
  • If you prefer to stay at the University of Exeter, here is a list of Masters courses, focused on different applications of Computer Science, including Computing and Networks
  • Explore IT Hardware training courses on Prospects.ac.uk, including Cisco certified network engineering programmes
  • CompTIA offer a wide range of industry certified courses

Advice

If you are considering postgraduate or doctoral level study before entering your chosen sector, please visit our Postgraduate Study page for more information about choosing further study.

Information and links from professional bodies

If you have studied a related degree, check if your course is accredited by one of the professional bodies. Being a member of a professional body is voluntary; however, it can be valuable for developing networks, continuing your professional development, and generally keeping up to date with what's happening in the sector.  The following professional bodies offer various development courses.  It’s important to check carefully with target employers as to whether these are requirements for roles since they may well be paid for as part of a development package when you start work.